Chinese solar giant JinkoSolar has secured a significant legal victory after China’s National Intellectual Property Administration invalidated a major patent owned by Tetrasun, a subsidiary of First Solar, one of the largest photovoltaic manufacturers in the Western Hemisphere.
Chinese regulators ruled that the patent failed to satisfy legal requirements relating to novelty and inventiveness under Chinese patent law.
Industry analysis suggests the ruling strikes at the core of First Solar’s crystalline silicon intellectual property portfolio. The patent reportedly covered 17 claims linked to high efficiency solar cell technology and had been viewed as an important legal safeguard for the company’s advanced solar manufacturing processes.
The decision removes Tetrasun’s ability to prevent Chinese manufacturers from using the disputed technology within mainland China. It also weakens First Solar’s leverage in potential cross licensing negotiations and future patent infringement disputes involving Chinese competitors.
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The ruling comes amid an increasingly aggressive global intellectual property battle in the solar industry, particularly around next generation technologies such as Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact, known as TOPCon, and Heterojunction, or HJT, solar cell architectures.
Historically dominant in thin film solar technology, First Solar expanded into crystalline silicon technologies through its acquisition of Tetrasun and has actively pursued patent enforcement strategies linked to advanced solar cell designs. The company has also reportedly investigated patent claims involving imported solar modules entering the US market.
For JinkoSolar, one of the world’s largest suppliers of N type TOPCon modules, the invalidation represents a strategic win. Chinese manufacturers have increasingly used patent challenges to dismantle rival intellectual property protections that could threaten export growth and supply chain access in major global markets.
Although the CNIPA ruling only applies within China, legal analysts note that patent invalidation decisions in major jurisdictions can encourage similar challenges in other markets, including the US, Europe and India. The case is therefore likely to be closely watched across the global solar manufacturing sector as competition intensifies over high efficiency photovoltaic technologies.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal

 






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